Ale to Zed

I have decided to add a new page, which is basically another big list.  Its the Ales that I have had.  Admittedly I am at a disadvantage as I have forgotten most of the ones that I have had before, but from now on I will try and keep it up to date.  So far breweries that begin with B are in the lead, but that is only because I can remember them.

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Relaxing Weekend

I guess as some of you will know, I am getting married. My wonderful (now) Fiancee said yes, even though I was drunk and had not planned anything (Riga Black Balsam has a lot to answer for). We haven’t set a date, we have barely set a year (2012).

Since this happened nearly a fortnight ago in Riga, we have been crazily busy with things going on, so this weekend was nice and relaxing taking pleasure in being out in the sunny weather. We went out on our bikes and the picked up the engagement ring before going out with some of H’s friends to a pub and drinking again.

On Sunday we went to Queen Elizabeth Country park for a walk so that my sister can wear in her new hiking boots before she hits the Himalayas. For the afternoon we sat in my parents back garden with a BBQ eating and drinking away the rest of the day lazily. It will be the most relaxing weekend that we will have for a while.

Innis and Gunn

I was brought a bottle of this ale for my birthday. It is probably one of the best real Ales that I have ever drank.  This is Innis and Gunn Original.

It apparently has hints of Toffee, Vanilla and Oak, which gives it a sweet taste, it really is very nice.  You can get it from Tesco.

Active Weekend

Why is the weather mocking me so much, I need to be outside on a day like today.  I have had such an active weekend that I want to be out there again.

I woke up on Saturday and went out for a massive walk, I reckon it was about 10 miles, it was a beautiful cloudless day.  With the Volcanic ash of doom about there were no planes, so in some parts it was incredibly silent, but walking through the fields was nice.

H came round later on Saturday afternoon after work and after much deliberation we decided that we would go to the pub, so we went to the Ship at Langstone, and sat by the sea drinking a nice pint of Fullers Discovery, which I do like.

Reflection from Hayling Bridge

On Sunday we got our bikes out after we had decided that we were going to  ride to Hayling Island.  We left from mine and cycled down to Farlington before heading along the marshes to Langstone.  We crossed the bridge and headed up the old Hayling Billy Railway line, which was closed due to the Beeching railway reforms and is now used by vast amounts of Walkers, Cyclists and Horse Riders.  Once we had reached he end we decided to ride along to the Ferryboat Inn and have a pint in the sun, which was lovely, before riding back.

This is about a 20 mile round trip (I just Google mapped it, and its not far off as the cycle path runs down by the road).  I am incredibly impressed as before last week H hadn’t been on a bike for over 10 years.  The padded shorts she has purchased are obviously working.

Later on Sunday afternoon we went and had dinner sat in my parents back garden, which was lovely and warm.  The rubbish thing is I am wishing the week away, because I want it to be next weekend now so that I can do this sort of thing again.

Quizaroo Answers

Food    

1)If you were eating Cuy in Peru, what pet would you be eating? Guinea Pig  

2)In Cambodia, what delicacy is known as A-ping? Tarantula    

3)Which American State eats the most Spam? Hawaii    

4)The root of the Blue Agarve cactus is fermented to produce what? Tequila  

5)The famous Cheesesteak Sandwich is named after which American city? Philedelphia

 Festivities

6)What is the Encerrio of the Festival de San Fermin, held in Pamplona every year better known as? Bull Run

7)In What month is the Rio Carnival? February 

 8)In Which country would you find La Tomantina tomato fight? Spain

9)What do Canadians Celebrate on the 2^nd Monday in October?  Thanksgiving

10)El Dia De La Muertas is celebrated in Mexico.  What does it translate to? Day of the Dead

Buildings

11)Emperor Shah Jahar built which famous building for his second Wife Mumtaz Mahal? Taj Mahal

12)How tall is the Eiffel Tower to the nearest 50m? 324m 274-374

13)The Djenne Mosque in Mali was built in the 12^th century and is still standing.  What is it made of? Mud

14)The Worlds Smallest Theatre is in Which English town famous for its spring Water? Malvern

15)The Biggest hotel in Las Vegas is modelled after which European city?  Venice

Sport

16)Which  race has been won by Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckyx and Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain 5 times each?  The Tour de France

17)In which sport would you find the Deccan Chargers? Cricket

18)David Beckham Plays for which 2 club Football teams? AC Milan and LA Galaxy (point for each)

19)Where is the World cup being held in 2014? Brazil

20)In Which City did Mohammed Ali fight Joe Frazier in 1975 for the third time? Manilla

Europe

21)What is Europes most Westerly Country? Iceland

22)In which City would you find the Ponte Vecchio bridge, Duomo and the Accadamia which holds Michalangelo’s statue of David?  Florence

23)In Ulm (Germany) there is a statue which consists of One Stone on a plinth.  Which scientist’s birthplace is it commemorating? Albert Einstein

24)The Bishop of Rome is otherwise known as What?  The Pope

25)Which Capital City holds the worlds Heaviest Building?  Bucharest

Place names

26)What animal is the Arctic named after?Bear (Arktos is Russian for Bear)

27)What is Uluru better known as? Ayres Rock

28)What is Rapa Nui better known as? Easter Island

29)Which city was formerly known as Leningrad? St Petersburg

30)Which Country used to be known as Ceylon? Sri Lanka

Seconds

31)What is the Worlds 2^nd Longest River?  The Amazon

32)What is the Worlds 2^nd Highest Mountain? K2

33)Where is the worlds 2^nd largest Coral Reef?  Belize

34)Second largest Island? Greenland

35)Second largest Continent? Africa

Capitals

36)What is the Capital of Slovenia?  Ljubliana

37)What is the Capital of Morocco? Rabat

38)Tanzania? Dar Es Salaam

39)Indonesia? Jakarta

40)Fiji? Suva

Quizaroo

Tuesday night was my debut as quiz master in the Sunshine inn.  It was down to me as we won the quiz the month before.  The winner of the first quiz each month has to write the quiz for the next month.   After much Umming and erring I decided that I was going to do a travel quiz.  I managed to do 9 musical intro’s of songs with place names in the titles, varying from Led Zeppelin (Kashmir) to Stiff Little Fingers (Alternative Ulster) and Editors (Munich).  I think it all went down quite well.   The picture round was on famous buildings and the cities that they are in.  So there were pictures of the Taj Mahal., Brandenburg gate, Eiffel tower and Burj Al Arab hotel, as well as a few more obscure ones.    The main quiz was divided up into sections with 5 in each group.  I have posted the questions below.  People told me that it was interesting and they enjoyed it, which I am glad about.  

Food    

1)If you were eating Cuy in Peru, what pet would you be eating?

2)In Cambodia, what delicacy is known as A-ping?  

3)Which American State eats the most Spam?     

4)The root of the Blue Agarve cactus is fermented to produce what?

5)The famous Cheesesteak Sandwich is named after which American city?

Festivities

6)What is the Encerrio of the Festival de San Fermin, held in Pamplona every year better known as?

7)In What month is the Rio Carnival?

 8)In Which country would you find La Tomantina tomato fight?

9)What do Canadians Celebrate on the 2^nd Monday in October? 

10)El Dia De La Muertas is celebrated in Mexico.  What does it translate to?

Buildings

11)Emperor Shah Jahar built which famous building for his second Wife Mumtaz Mahal?

12)How tall is the Eiffel Tower to the nearest 50m?

13)The Djenne Mosque in Mali was built in the 12^th century and is still standing.  What is it made of?

14)The Worlds Smallest Theatre is in Which English town famous for its spring Water?

15)The Biggest hotel in Las Vegas is modelled after which European city? 

Sport

16)Which  race has been won by Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckyx and Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain 5 times each? 

17)In which sport would you find the Deccan Chargers?

18)David Beckham Plays for which 2 club Football teams?

19)Where is the World cup being held in 2014?

20)In Which City did Mohammed Ali fight Joe Frazier in 1975 for the third time?

Europe

21)What is Europes most Westerly Country?

22)In which City would you find the Ponte Vecchio bridge, Duomo and the Accadamia which holds Michalangelo’s statue of David? 

23)In Ulm (Germany) there is a statue which consists of One Stone on a plinth.  Which scientist’s birthplace is it commemorating?

24)The Bishop of Rome is otherwise known as What? 

25)Which Capital City holds the worlds Heaviest Building? 

Place names

26)What animal is the Arctic named after?

27)What is Uluru better known as?

28)What is Rapa Nui better known as?

29)Which city was formerly known as Leningrad?

30)Which Country used to be known as Ceylon?

Seconds

31)What is the Worlds 2^nd Longest River? 

32)What is the Worlds 2^nd Highest Mountain?

33)Where is the worlds 2^nd largest Coral Reef? 

34)Second largest Island?

35)Second largest Continent?

Capitals

36)What is the Capital of Slovenia? 

37)What is the Capital of Morocco?

38)Tanzania?

39)Indonesia?

40)Fiji?

Answers are being posted tomorrow.

Lunchtime Ales

Yesterday Rachael from my office and I went to the Hole in The Wall  (CAMRA’s SE Hants pub of the year 2007 and again in 2009) at lunchtime, they are having an Ale festival, and have 50 barrels going over the next week.  It started on Friday the 2nd, and we were there.  I had the Brewdog (surprise surprise) 77lager (not like a lager at all, it was flat and ale like and very good).  Then we had a half of Titanic, a Chocolate and Vanilla flavoured stout.  This smelt of chocolate and tasted of it at first, later it had a smokey taste, that I didn’t like.  

So there you go, drinking at lunchtime, all good.

Cathedrals and Abbeys

On Friday evening myself and H drove up to Worcester for what seems like the first time in ages for me (and the first time ever for H), where we were staying at Fatbob and Bimbo’s.  We were joined later in the evening by Dev, but not KP, who sadly had to look after the escapologist cat Frank (He escaped with a big anti-scratch collar on) and had some curry, made by Jackie abley assisted by Fatbob. 

We later headed into town  to the Hand in Glove pub for a few beers and were joined by Treble Cleff and Pete, where our usual talking rubbish insued until about 2 before we turned in for the evening.

The next morning, slightly worse for wear, we had a sausage sandwich and then took a wander down by the river to show H the cathedral.  It turned out that there was a food fair going on, but as you had to pay £6 to get in, we decided against that one and headed inside for a bit of a look around.  It is an impressive building and I hadn’t been in there since my graduation, so it was nice to have a decent look around in there, including the Crypt.  After this we headed back and had a game of Trivial Pursuit before heading to the Marwood for an evening meal.

More impressively than the fact that they had Brew Dog Lusty Blonde on Tap, which is ace, the food was spectacular.  For starters I had 6 Garlic King Prawns.  For the Main I had a Steak cooked beautifully rare with Honey Roast Vegetables and Fat Chips (basically half chip and half roast potato, all very tasty).  Desert was a Chocolate and Pistacio fudge cake with Lemon Sorbet.  I left feeling full, but wanting more.

The best desert was H’s Pannacotta, which had popping candy on the top.  Very nice indeed.  We had a good long meal, but called it an early night, as we seem to be getting too old for late-night exertions 2 days in a row.

Tewekesbury Abbey

On Sunday we had plans to visit Mack, Spanner and the sprog, so we went to Tewkesbury on the way to have a look at the abbey and the confluence of the Severn and Avon rivers.  Being geography geeks, this was a bit exciting for us.

Saying goodbye to Fatbob and Bimbo we headed towards Fairford for lunch at Chez Chick and then home.  All in all it was a good weekend, so that is even better.

Brewdog

A while ago on Oz and James Drink Britain, I saw 2 guys from a little scottish brewery drinking Ale in a park with Oz Clark and James May.  It sounded interesting, but I swiftly forgot about it.

Punk IPA

Then I went to the Southwick Brewhouse and found Brewdog’s Trashy Blonde there.  The 4.1% IPA is a great drink, but looking on their website there were a lot more that I wanted to try.  One of the things they say on their bottles is that its not mass produced or mass marketed, so I didn’t hold out much hope of finding it in a supermarket.

Then I went to Tesco and found that they had Trashy Blond in there.  The next day I went to Sainsburys, and found that they had Trashy Blond(4.1%), Punk IPA (6%) Dogma (7.8% Lavender Honey flavoured) and Hardcore IPA (9%) and Chaos Theory (7.1%), even better its on 4 for the price of 3.  Even better its much cooler than drinking Wizards Tipple or Old Speckeld Granny or whatever they are called.

 

So this might be my first blog into a journey of discovery of real ales.  Or alternatively I could try some of the Tokyo stout at 18% and fall over.

Not Death Metal and Wheres Tacky?

Dev and KP came down on Friday and presented me with a lovely present, a

Its Tacky the Dog

statue of a dog in a jumper (now christened Tacky) and after a King Prawn Jalfrezi expertly cooked by me, we went up to the George for a few drinks, where I accused a dog of having Downs Syndrome and we chatted rubbish for a while.

Saturday came and we headed to the Southwick Brewhouse to look around the brewery and purchase some real ales, including a Chilli Beer for Dev.  The guy that runs the place is a really nice, but a bit eccentric gentleman, but makes everyone feel at home. 

From here we went to the Royal Armouries Museum at Fort Nelson and had a look at some tanks and stuff.  Dev was partucularly pleased with the pieces of the Iraqi supergun that were there, whereas I was more interested in the fact that they were firing off some of the guns. 

During the day, Tacky had miraculously moved to various different places in the flat, causing much amusement (considering our ages, we are very childish).  We then met up with Andy G to go to the Pyramids to see the Eagles Of Death Metal play a blindingly brilliant set.  Sadly minus Josh Homme, the band seemed pleased to be there and were enjoying themselves a lot as they rattled of their tracks, and a couple of cover versions.  A superb speeded and rocked up version of Stuck in the Middle with You and Brown Sugar were good, but the highlight was the single Want You So Hard.  The hot and sweaty atmosphere of the Pyramids seems made for this band. 

After we rocked our faces off we decided to hit Albert Road for a few only to find out that most of the pubs were rammed full of idiots, so we headed back to the penthouse for a few more and because the clocks went forward we didnt get to bed until gone 3.

I have now decided that I am going to play a game of Where’s Tacky? and will be hiding the statue at various peoples houses until they can get rid of it again.  Of course, this could be a short game if they don’t find it and give it back.